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Newbie! NEED HELP!

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So I just set up a 20-gallon fish tank a few days ago, and introduced some fish into it last night. They all seemed fine last night when I first put them in the tank, but after 24 hours the water turned cloudy and one of my guppies died. I did a water change right away, cause the water was a bit smelly. Am I doing everything OK? Cause I don't want any of my other fish to die.
Also here's some general info on my tank:
1-Currently, I have the temp set to around 24 degrees celsius.
2-Population of my fish: 2 small Angelfish, 2 Guppies(used to be 3), 1 Tiger Barb, 2 Mollies, 1 Pleco. Is it overpopulated?
3-When I did the water change, a lot of food came out from under the gravel, so I fear I might have overfed them. What can I do to fix this?
4-By looking at the population of my fishtank, how much food should I put for them everyday?
Much thanks to anyone who answers.

Sounds like you might be overfeeding your fish and they are in a un-cycled tank

Please read the cycle with fish thread here in our forum. The is a link to it below in my sig

Last edited by Cliff; 10-12-2012 at 11:30 PM.

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

Your tank isn't cycled. First off, you need to do a large water change; at a minimum, 75% of the water. Do this for a few days or until the ammonia levels drop below 0.25 ppm.

This brings up the second point - you need a liquid aquarium test kit to measure the ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte levels. Most fish stores sell these. As the tank cycles, ammonia levels will tend to drop and nitrite levels will rise (these are very toxic to fish.) After more time, these levels will drop and the aquarium filter will have a full colony of bacteria (most often in the poly fill in small filters) that will convert fish waste into nitrate. Periodic water changes will keep the nitrate levels low enough to be safe.

Welcome to one of the most interesting aspects of fish keeping - understanding biological filtration by your filters. Read the section on 'Fish based Cycling".

Knowledge is fun(damental)

A 75 gal with eight Discus, fake plants, and a lot of wood also with sand substrate. Clean up crew is down to just two Sterba's Corys. Filters: continuous new water flow; canister w/UV, in-tank algae scrubber!! Finally, junked the nitrate removal unit from hell.

I agree with the others. You really have to cycle your tank properly, before you add too many fishes, or any fishes. If the pleco is a common pleco, then it will definitely have to go, as they can grow huge. The Angels aren't really the best fish for a 20g either, especially during a cycle.

In basic terms, cycling is the process of growing good bacteria in your filter media (the sponge, cotton wool, filter cartridge). The fishes waste will produce ammonia, which kicks off the cycle. Once the ammonia starts, bacteria starts to grow that eats the ammonia and turns it into nitrites. Once the nitrites start, then a bacteria starts to grow to eat the nitrites and turns it into nitrates. After the cycle is complete, your tests should read 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and you will be seeing nitrates when you test. Get yourself an API master test kit, so that you can test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Having that kit will make it so much easier to keep track of what's going on during the cycle.

When you start doing your water changes, do not change the water so that you get a 0 reading of ammonia or nitrites, and do not clean your filter. And make sure you use dechlorinator every water change. Chlorinated water will kill off the good bacteria. You need to have ammonia and nitrites in the water to keep the cycle going, until it completes. You need to keep testing, and only do enough water changes to keep the ammonia between .25ppm and .50ppm. Eventually the ammonia will lower to 0 as the bacteria grows enough to eat it all. The nitrites will do the same thing. They will show up on your tests, they will rise, then lower as the bacteria grows.

A couple of things you can do to help your fishes through the cycle, and to speed the cycle up a little, is to add some more oxygen to the water, and raise the temperature a little if you can. The bacteria that you want to grow thrives on oxygen, and doesn't mind the water a little warmer as well. So I would raise the temp to 26C, and if you can, add an airstone to increase the oxygen. You can also drop the water level in the tank a little, if you have a HOB filter (hang over the back filter), just to make the water splash back into the tank a bit more, to increase the oxygen. It can take 4 - 6 weeks for a cycle to complete.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn. ~Chuck Clark

I am still brand new myself and I would refer to my companions for tank cycling. As far as fish population goes, try to research the species before hand.

Tiger Barbs should have a minimum group of 6-8 fish.

Plecos are huge and need a huge tank.

Most community fish like to school and have emotional problems if the school is not large enough.

Good rule of thumb is one inch of mature fish for every gallon of water..sooo for a 20 gallon I would choose 1 species that you like (guppies, mollies, or platy) Get 5-6 of those fish and then get something to help with cleaning your tank. I like starting with 2-3 Corydora catfish, then as your tank matures with algae and sediment getting a few snails and shrimp.

So as Mizzoutank said, return all the fish. Get a liquid test kit, buy some ammonia (pure) from a hardware store, read the fishless cycle, and grow the bacteria in the filter. Takes a few weeks but when done, you can add fish (a few), give it a week, then add more - continue until stocked.

When you have fish, feed only a little food that they eat right away. Continue for fifteen minutes or until food falls to the tank bottom, uneaten. That determines the max. food to feed common fish once per day. Some types need more often feedings but those fish are not beginner fish.

As Mizzoutank said, angels are far too big a fish to live in a 20 gal. Also, two (unless they pair off) will fight.

As Lady Hobbs said, did you treat the tank BEFORE adding dechorinator? Add enough? Could be you had weak stock and overnight, food can rot and contaminate the tank. Use a vacuum to remove food on the substrate.

Best of luck and read about cycling!

Knowledge is fun(damental)

A 75 gal with eight Discus, fake plants, and a lot of wood also with sand substrate. Clean up crew is down to just two Sterba's Corys. Filters: continuous new water flow; canister w/UV, in-tank algae scrubber!! Finally, junked the nitrate removal unit from hell.

I'm no pro, but generally sound advice. However, many people would suggest that you shouldn't buy fish to clean your tank - that's your job. If you like Otos, Cories, plecos, etc. then go ahead and research the best species for your tank. But if you don't, then buy something you do like.

Other than that, I believe everything else has been said. You've certainly come to the right place for help/information. These guys won't steer you wrong. =]

Read, research and ask questions. There's a lot to learn about fish keeping and tank maintenance, but it can be fun.